Methods and systems for providing personalized, real-time information based on remotely retrieved information

ABSTRACT

This disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for providing personalized financing information and, more particularly, systems and methods for providing personalized financing information via a dealership website using an API associated with a financial service provider. In one embodiment, a system includes memory hardware storing instructions that configure processing hardware to receive a loan request for a buyer via a real-time API that includes at least buyer identification and financial information and information associated at least one inventory item presented on a dealership website. The system may also determine financing information comprising prospective financing terms for the at least one item based on at least the loan request. The server may also provide, to the dealership server via the real-time API, the determined financing information for presentation on the dealership website, including prospective financing terms information corresponding to each of the at least one item.

FIELD

The disclosed embodiments generally relate to financing sales of itemsand, in particular, providing a real-time application programminginterface (“API”) that may be used to provide enhanced financinginformation to prospective buyers of automotive vehicles based on theirpersonal financial profile.

BACKGROUND

The digital revolution has fundamentally changed how automotive vehiclesare bought and sold. Prospective buyers were formerly at the mercy ofbrick and mortar automotive dealers and lenders when attempting to shopfor a new vehicle. The basic question of “how much can I afford?” wasoften answered with inaccurate information or information that servedthe needs of the other parties—not the buyer.

Upon entering the information age, the balance of power in theautomotive market has shifted. With ample information now availableonline about, vehicles for sale, such as tax values, the sale price ofprevious or similar sales, detailed photographs and other detailedinformation, and the ability to comparison shop, prospective buyers areincreasingly able to make more informed decisions when placing purchaseoffers. Numerous lender-sponsored online loan applications have emergedthat allow buyers to reach some level of clarity with respect to howmuch they can reasonably afford. These online loan applications,however, often require leaving a website listing vehicles for sale tovisit a third party lender's website to apply for a loan associated witheach desired vehicle. By requiring a buyer to visit a third partylender's website to acquire loan information, the buyer is unable toview loan information integrated with a vehicle listing or multiplevehicle listings. To conduct this loan application process for eachdesired vehicle, a buyer may spend a significant portion of time,potentially missing an opportunity to purchase a desired vehicle, orapproach a purchase uninformed on alternative loan terms that may applyto the desired vehicle.

Accordingly, a need exists to provide prospective buyers of items, suchas automotive vehicles, enhanced information relating to financing whileshopping for the desired item.

SUMMARY

Consistent with a disclosed embodiment, a financial service systemprovides personalized financing information for incorporation into adealership website via an API. The system may comprise memory hardwarestoring instructions and processing hardware configured to execute theinstructions to perform operations consistent with disclosedembodiments. In some embodiments, the system may receive, from adealership server via a real-time API configured to provide financinginformation determinations, a loan request for a buyer that includes atleast buyer identification information, buyer financial information, andinformation associated with at least one item contained within aninventory listing presented on a dealership website associated with thedealership server. The system may further determine financinginformation comprising prospective financing terms for the at least oneitem based on at least the loan request. The system may also provide, tothe dealership server via the real-time API, the determined financinginformation for presentation on the dealership website, wherein thedetermined financing information comprises prospective financing termsinformation corresponding to each of the at least one item.

Consistent with another disclosed embodiment, a computer-implementedmethod provides personalized financing information for incorporationinto a dealership website via an API. The method may include receiving,from a dealership server via a real-time API configured to providefinancing information determinations, a loan request for a buyer thatincludes at least buyer identification information, buyer financialinformation, and information associated with a plurality of itemscontained within an inventory listing presented on a dealership websiteassociated with the dealership server. The method may also includedetermining, by one or more processors, financing information comprisingprospective financing terms for each of the plurality of items based onat least the loan request, wherein each of the plurality of termsapplies to a different item. The method may also include providing, tothe dealership server via the real-time API, the determined financinginformation for presentation on the dealership website in associationwith the plurality of items, wherein the determined financinginformation comprises prospective financing terms informationcorresponding to each of the plurality of items.

Consistent with another disclosed embodiment, a buyer system forpresenting personalized financing information associated with at leastone item contained within an inventory listing is disclosed. The buyersystem may include interface hardware configured to display informationreceived from a dealership server, including the at least one item,memory hardware storing instructions, and processing hardware configuredto execute the instructions to receive, from a dealership server,information associated with a dealership website, including the at leastone item. The processing hardware may further execute the instructionsto display, via the interface hardware, the information associated thedealership website, receive, via the interface hardware, buyeridentification information and buyer financial information, and provide,to the dealership server, the buyer identification information and buyerfinancial information for providing, with information associated withthe at least one item, to a financial service system for determinationof financing information. The processing hardware may further executethe instructions to receive, from the dealership server, the financinginformation including prospective financing terms for the at least oneitem, and display, via the interface hardware, the prospective financingterms in association with the at least one item.

Additional objects and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will beset forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will beapparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of theembodiments. The objects and advantages of the disclosed embodiments maybe realized and attained by the elements and combinations set forth inthe claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of the disclosed embodiments, as claimed. Forexample, the methods relating to the disclosed embodiments may beimplemented in system environments outside of the exemplary systemenvironments disclosed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate various embodiments and aspectsof the disclosed embodiments and, together with the description, serveto explain the principles of the disclosed embodiments. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system consistent with disclosedembodiments;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an exemplary vehicle loan process, consistentwith disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an exemplary loan request process, consistentwith disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary loan information collectionprocess, consistent with disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary loan approval process, consistentwith disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an exemplary loan terms generation process,consistent with disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an exemplary multiple vehicle loan process,consistent with disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 8 is an exemplary user interface for receiving buyer financialinformation that may be provided, consistent with disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 9 is an exemplary user interface for providing determined financialinformation about desired purchases to the prospective buyer that may beprovided, consistent with disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 10 is an exemplary user interface for providing determinedfinancial information about a desired purchase and adjustable loan termsto the prospective buyer that may be provided, consistent with disclosedembodiments;

FIG. 11 is an exemplary user interface for providing determinedfinancial information about a desired purchase and selected loan termsto the prospective buyer that may be provided, consistent with disclosedembodiments; and

FIG. 12 is an exemplary user interface for providing notification ofreceipt of a loan request to the prospective buyer that may be provided,consistent with disclosed embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to disclosed embodiments, examplesof which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whereverconvenient, the same reference numbers will be used throughout thedrawings to refer to the same or like parts.

Generally, disclosed embodiments are directed to systems and methods forproviding financing options to a prospective buyer and, moreparticularly, providing a real-time application programming interface(“API”) that may be used in conjunction with a web service to provideprospective buyers with the ability to shop on a website listing itemsfor sale with enhanced information about a prospective buyer's approvalstatus, loan terms, and the effect of the loan on their personalfinances, such as the change in estimated cash flow resulting from anincreased/decreased monthly payment based on historical spending andincome patterns of the prospective buyer. In certain embodiments, areal-time API consistent with certain disclosed embodiments may useRepresentational State Transfer (REST) style architecture, and in thisscenario, the real-time API may be called a RESTful API.

In certain embodiments, the real-time API may include a set of HypertextTransfer Protocol (HTTP) request messages and a definition of thestructure of response messages. In certain aspects, the API may allow asoftware application, which is written against the API and installed ona client (such as, for example, a computing device associated with adealer) to exchange data with a server (such as, for example, acomputing system associated with a financial service provider) thatimplements the API, in a request-response pattern. In certainembodiments, the request-response pattern defined by the API may beconfigured in a synchronous fashion, and require that the response beprovided in real-time. In some embodiments, a response message from theserver to the client through the API consistent with the disclosedembodiments may be in the format including, for example, ExtensibleMarkup Language (XML), JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), and/or thelike.

In some embodiments, the API design may also designate specific requestmethods for a client to access the server. For example, the client maysend GET and POST requests with parameters URL-encoded (GET) in thequery string or form-encoded (POST) in the body (e.g., a formsubmission). Additionally or alternatively, the client may send GET andPOST requests with JSON serialized parameters in the body. Preferably,the requests with JSON serialized parameters use “application/json”content-type. In another aspect, the API design may also require theserver implementing the API return messages in JSON format in responseto the request calls from the client.

For ease of discussion, embodiments may be described in connection withthe sale of automotive vehicles and auto loans commonly used to financetheir purchase. It is to be understood, however, that disclosedembodiments are not limited to the sale of vehicles and may, in fact, beapplied to the sale, auctioning, leasing, etc. of any item, product, orservice. Further, steps or processes disclosed herein are not limited tobeing performed in the order described, but may be performed in anyorder, and some steps may be omitted, consistent with the disclosedembodiments.

The features and other aspects and principles of the disclosedembodiments may be implemented in various environments. Suchenvironments and related applications may be specifically constructedfor performing the various processes and operations of the disclosedembodiments or they may include a general purpose computer or computingplatform selectively activated or reconfigured by program code toprovide the necessary functionality. Further, the processes disclosedherein may be implemented by a suitable combination of hardware,software, and/or firmware. For example, the disclosed embodiments mayimplement general purpose machines configured to execute softwareprograms that perform processes consistent with the disclosedembodiments. Alternatively, the disclosed embodiments may implement aspecialized apparatus or system configured to execute software programsthat perform processes consistent with the disclosed embodiments.Furthermore, although some disclosed embodiments may be implemented bygeneral purpose machines as computer processing instructions, all or aportion of the functionality of the disclosed embodiments may beimplemented instead in dedicated electronics hardware.

The disclosed embodiments also relate to tangible and non-transitorycomputer readable media that include program instructions or programcode that, when executed by one or more processors, perform one or morecomputer-implemented operations. The program instructions or programcode may include specially designed and constructed instructions orcode, and/or instructions and code well-known and available to thosehaving ordinary skill in the computer software arts. For example, thedisclosed embodiments may execute high level and/or low level softwareinstructions, such as machine code (e.g., such as that produced by acompiler) and/or high level code that can be executed by a processorusing an interpreter.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system 100 consistent with disclosedembodiments. In one aspect, system environment 100 may include afinancial service provider 105, financial service system 110, buyersystem 120, one or more dealership systems 130, and network 140.

Financial service provider 105 may be one or more entities thatconfigure, offer, provide, and/or manage financial service accounts,such as credit card accounts, debit card accounts, checking or savingsaccounts, loyalty accounts, and/or loan accounts. In one aspect,financial service provider 105 may include or be associated withfinancial service system 110 that may be configured to perform one ormore aspects of the disclosed embodiments. In some embodiments,financial service system 110 may configure one or more loan accounts forusers (i.e., prospective buyers), such as a user operating buyer system120, using information pertaining to one or more additional financialservice accounts provided by financial service provider 105 associatedwith financial service system 110.

Financial service system 110 may be one or more systems associated withone or more entities, such as financial service provider 105, thatconfigure, offer, provide, and/or manage financial service accounts,such as credit card accounts, debit card accounts, checking or savingsaccounts, and loan accounts. Consistent with the disclosure, financialservice system 110 may provide a loan account for financing a purchaseto one or more users (i.e., prospective buyers) operating buyer system120. In some embodiments, the loan account may be an automotive vehicleloan account. In some embodiments, financial service system 110 mayreceive loan requests from users (via, i.e., buyer system 120 and/ordealership system 130) relating to provided financial service accounts.In some embodiments, financial service system 110 may be configured totransmit financial information, such as that related to financialservice accounts, creditworthiness, etc. related to one or more usersoperating buyer system 120 to one or more dealership systems 130 throughan API to provide the prospective buyer a more informed shopping andresearch experience in preparation for a purchase. Financial servicesystem 110 may be configured to assess the income, creditworthiness,risk, etc. associated with a prospective automobile buyer in real-timeor substantially real-time, identify different financing packagesdepending on those assessments, and provide those financing packages todealership systems 130 (via, e.g., the API). According to someembodiments, financial service system 110 may further receive inventory,pricing information associated with the inventor, and the like, toprovide a listing of inventory items at the dealership associated withdealership system 130 meeting the identified financing packages.

Financial service system 110 may include one or more components thatperform processes consistent with the disclosed embodiments. Forexample, financial service system 110 may include one or more computers(e.g., servers, database systems, etc.) configured to execute softwareinstructions programmed to perform aspects of the disclosed embodiments,such as generating financial service accounts, maintaining accounts,processing information relating to accounts, etc. Financial servicesystem 110 may also be configured to execute stored softwareinstructions to implement the API for providing prospective buyers of anitem requiring financing the ability to shop for the item on a website,such as a website associated with dealership system 130, listing itemsfor sale with enhanced information, such as loan terms approved forfinancing one or more inventory items of dealership system 130, alisting of the one or more inventory items meeting the approved loanterms, and the like. Consistent with disclosed embodiments, financialservice system 110 may include other components and infrastructure thatenable it to perform operations, processes, and services consistent withdisclosed embodiments. Consistent with disclosed embodiments, financialservice system 110 may be configured to provide, manage, monitor, andassess a prospective financing program, such as an auto loan applicationprocess, for a purchase transaction involving buyer system 120,dealership system 130, or another component (shown or not shown) ofsystem 100.

Buyer system 120 may represent a system associated with an entityseeking to buy an item from another party. Although the followingdescription may refer to such an entity as an “individual,” it is to beunderstood that the same description applies to multiple buyers actingin concert, corporate entity, or any other entity operating in themanner described herein. Buyer system 120 may include one or morecomponents that perform processes consistent with the disclosedembodiments. For example, buyer system 120 may include one or morecomputers (e.g., servers, database systems, etc.) that are configured toexecute software instructions programmed to perform aspects of thedisclosed embodiments. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognizethat buyer system 120 may include components and infrastructure thatenable it to perform operations, processes, and services consistent withdisclosed embodiments. For example, buyer system 120 may be configuredto transmit and receive information associated with accessing a website,such as a website operated by dealership system 130 offering financingoptions for items listed on the website through an API associated withfinancial service provider system 110.

Dealership system(s) 130-1 through 130-N may represent one or moresystems configured to receive, process, display, and transmitinformation associated with items for sale, for example, automotivevehicles. In some embodiments, multiple dealership systems 130 may beconfigured to access common inventory listing databases (not shown)containing listing information relating to vehicles for sale or lease.Dealership systems 130 may be owned by the same entity or differententities. Dealership system(s) 130 may be associated with the seller ofthe vehicles (i.e., a typical car dealership) or a third-party to thesale (i.e., Kelley Blue Book™, Cars.com™, etc.). Dealership system(s)130 may include components and infrastructure that enable it to performoperations, processes, and services consistent with disclosedembodiments, such as providing websites that offer vehicle listings, andcommunicating with financial service system 110 or other componentsthrough an API to provide financing options associated with thosevehicle listings.

Consistent with disclosed embodiments, components of system 100,including financial service system 110, buyer system 120, and dealershipsystem(s) 130, may include one or more processors (such as processors111, 121, 131, 133, or 135) as shown in exemplary form in FIG. 1. Theprocessors may be, for example, one or more of a microprocessor from thePentium™ family manufactured by Intel™ or the Turion™ familymanufactured by AMD™. The processor may include a single core ormultiple core processor system that provides the ability to performparallel processes simultaneously. For example, the processors may besingle core processors configured with virtual processing technologiesknown to those skilled in the art. In certain embodiments, theprocessors may use logical processors to simultaneously execute andcontrol multiple processes. The processors may implement virtual machinetechnologies, or other similar known technologies to provide the abilityto execute, control, run, manipulate, store, etc. multiple softwareprocesses, applications, programs, etc. In some embodiments, theprocessors may include a multiple-core processor arrangements (e.g.,dual or quad core) configured to provide parallel processingfunctionalities to enable computer components of financial servicesystem 110, buyer system 120, and/or dealership system(s) 130 to executemultiple processes simultaneously. Other types of processor arrangementscould be implemented that provide for the capabilities disclosed herein.Moreover, the processors may represent one or more servers or othercomputing devices that are associated with financial service system 110,buyer system 120, and/or dealership system(s) 130. For instance, theprocessors may represent a distributed network of processors configuredto operate together over a local or wide area network. Alternatively,the processors may be a processing device configured to execute softwareinstructions that receive and send information, instructions, etc.to/from other processing devices associated with financial serviceprovider 110 or other components of system environment 100. In certainaspects, processors 111, 121, 131, 133, and 135 may be configured toexecute software instructions stored in memory to perform one or moreprocesses consistent with disclosed embodiments. Moreover, processors111, 121, 131, 133, and 135 may execute one or more programs locatedremotely from financial service system 110, buyer system 120, ordealership systems 130, respectively.

Consistent with disclosed embodiments, components of system 100,including financial service system 110, buyer system 120, and dealershipsystem(s) 130, may also include one or more memory devices (such asmemories 112, 122, 132, 134, and 136) as shown in exemplary form inFIG. 1. The memory devices may store software instructions that areexecuted by processors 111, 121, 131, 133, and 135, such as one or moreapplications, network communication processes, operating systemsoftware, software instructions relating to the disclosed embodiments,and any other type of application or software known to be executable byprocessing devices. The memory devices may be a volatile ornon-volatile, magnetic, semiconductor, tape, optical, removable,nonremovable, or other type of storage device or non-transitorycomputer-readable medium. The memory devices may be two or more memorydevices distributed over a local or wide area network, or may be asingle memory device. In certain embodiments, the memory devices mayinclude database systems, such as database storage devices, includingone or more database processing devices configured to receiveinstructions to access, process, and send information stored in thestorage devices. By way of example, database systems may includingOracle™ databases, Sybase™ databases, or other relational databases ornon-relational databases, such as Hadoop sequence files, HBase, orCassandra.

In some embodiments, financial service system 110, buyer system 120, anddealership system(s) 130 may also include one or more additionalcomponents (not shown) that provide communications with other componentsof system environment 100, such as through network 140, or any othersuitable communications infrastructure.

Network 140 may be any type of network that facilitates communicationsand data transfer between components of system environment 100, such as,for example, financial service system 110, buyer system 120, anddealership system(s) 130. Network 140 may be a Local Area Network (LAN),a Wide Area Network (WAN), such as the Internet, and may be a singlenetwork or a combination of networks. Further, network 140 may reflect asingle type of network or a combination of different types of networks,such as the Internet and public exchange networks for wireline and/orwireless communications. Network 140 may utilize cloud computingtechnologies that are familiar in the marketplace. Moreover, any part ofnetwork 140 may be implemented through traditional infrastructures orchannels of trade, to permit operations associated with financialaccounts that are performed manually or in-person by the variousentities illustrated in FIG. 1. Network 140 is not limited to the aboveexamples and system 100 may implement any type of network that allowsthe entities (and others not shown) included in FIG. 1 to exchange dataand information.

Although FIG. 1 describes a certain number of entities andprocessing/computing components within system environment 100, anynumber or combination of components may be implemented without departingfrom the scope of the disclosed embodiments. For example, dealershipsystems 130 may interact with users described as associated with buyersystem 120 through systems available to the users at brick-and-mortarlocations associated with dealership system 130, such as computersprovided by the brick-and-mortar to access vehicle inventory.Additionally, financial service system 110, buyer system 120, anddealership system(s) 130 are not mutually exclusive. For example, in onedisclosed embodiment, financial service system 110 and one or moredealership systems 130 may be the same entity or partnered with oneanother. The entities as described are not limited to their discretedescriptions above. Further, where different components of systemenvironment 100 are combined (e.g., financial service system 110 and oneor more dealership systems 130, etc.), the computing and processingdevices and software executed by these components may be integrated intoa local or distributed system.

As explained, the disclosed embodiments include methods and systems forproviding a real-time API for providing prospective buyers of an itemrequiring financing the ability to shop for the item on a websitelisting items for sale with enhanced information about loan termsapproved for financing one or more inventory items of dealership system130, a listing of the one or more inventory items meeting the approvedloan terms, and the like. FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of an exemplaryvehicle loan process 200 consistent with certain disclosed embodiments.One or more steps of vehicle loan process 200 may be provided throughthe real-time API configured in accordance with the disclosedembodiments. In some embodiments, dealership system(s) 130 may receivean indication that a user, such as a prospective buyer operating buyersystem 120, is interested in pursuing financing for purchase of one ormore items listed on a website associated with dealership system(s) 130.For example, a prospective buyer (via, e.g., buyer system 120) mayinteract with an automotive dealership website to identify one or morevehicles listed on the website that the prospective buyer may want topurchase. In some embodiments, the prospective buyer may interact (via,e.g., buyer system 120) with a portion of the dealership websiteoffering financing for the vehicles listed on the website through an APIassociated with one or more financial service providers. Through thereal-time API, financial service system 110 may receive a loan requestfor the prospective buyer (Step 210). In one aspect, the stem may be avehicle listed on a website associated with dealership system(s) 130,and the requested financing may comprise financing associated with anauto loan for the vehicle. For example, the prospective buyer mayinteract with a portion of the dealership website to request financingfor the one or more identified vehicles from the dealership website.

The prospective buyer may be prompted, through buyer system 120, toenter or otherwise provide financial information associated with theprospective buyer (Step 220). In some embodiments, receiving the loanrequest in Step 210 and prompting the prospective buyer to enterfinancial information in Step 220 may occur substantiallysimultaneously. In alternative embodiments, prompting the prospectivebuyer to enter financial information may occur at a later time followingreceipt of the loan request. In some embodiments, financial informationmay relate to loan criteria and buyer loan optimization preferences,which may affect loan terms. Information relating to loan criteria mayhelp financial service provider 105 evaluate the risk of the loan andmay include details about the prospective buyer and/or the item to bepurchased. For example, information relating to loan criteria mayinclude the automobile make(s), model(s), trim package, and year(s), theVehicle Identification Number(s) (VIN), proof of income, proof ofinsurance, back-end product information, trade-in equity, vehiclemileage, and the like. Back-end product information includes features oradditional stems that may be purchased in connection with the item to bepurchased. For example, back-end product information may include tireprotection, paint rust proofing coat, extra warranty on the automobile,gap insurance (i.e., insurance that covers gaps between coverage),and/or other costs potentially adding to the requested loan amount.

A prospective buyer may also have loan optimization preferences, such asprioritizing the interest rate, total monthly payment, number ofpayments, down payment, or other loan factors over remaining factors.The prospective buyer's loan preferences may be used to tailor the loanterms to the prospective buyer's preferences, making the loan terms moreattractive to the prospective buyer and offering multiple financingoptions for identified vehicles. Financial service system 110 mayadditionally be configured to perform a verification step (not shown) inwhich financial service system 110 may request verification of theinformation received in Step 220. For example, financial service system110 may require one or more components of system 100 to submitadditional information, or to stipulate to the veracity of any and allinformation previously received. For example, financial service system110 may receive verifying financial information (i.e., proof of income,etc.) from buyer system 120 and verifying item information (i.e.,particulars regarding the underlying vehicle) from dealership system(s)130 (Step 230) via the real-time API. Alternatively or additionally,financial service system 110 may receive the verifying financialinformation from buyer system 120 and/or verifying item information fromdealership system(s) 130 via telephonic, postal, and/or other electronicmeans.

Financial service system 110 may also determine financing informationassociated with the at least one item (Step 240). A financial serviceprovider may use databases and/or software to evaluate the risk of aloan and calculate loan terms. By comparing the information provided ina loan request, buyer financial information, and vehicle informationwith data, including information provided by other customers andprofitability of loans provided to those customers, a financial serviceprovider may determine appropriate loan terms (or sets of loan terms) tomaintain profitability and stay within the potential buyers purchasecapacity. Thus, loan terms and other financing information may bedetermined based on various information included in the loan request,buyer financial information, vehicle information, and/or otherinformation (e.g., information regarding the car, the buyer, the dealer,the general economy, the financial service providers desired profitlevel for the loan or loans in general etc.). In some embodiments, aseries of loan terms (i.e., multiple permutations of loan duration,rate, loan-to-value, etc.) may be calculated under which determinedfinancing information may be provided to the buyer. Financial servicesystem 110 or another computer device may be used to determine thefinancing information, and corresponding loan terms, associated with theitem (i.e., the vehicle(s) identified on the dealership's website) to bepurchased. In one embodiment, determining financing informationassociated with the at least one item may include determining aninterest rate, loan duration, payment frequency, payment amount, and anyfees associated with the loan.

Financial service system 110 may optionally prepare and provide thedetermined financing information to dealership system 130 through thereal-time API (Step 250). The financing information may, in turn, beprovided by dealership system 130 to buyer system 120 for presentationto the prospective buyer. In some embodiments, the determined financinginformation may be integrated with item listings on the websiteassociated with dealership system(s) 130, as viewed by the prospectivebuyer through buyer system 120. For example, a listing of one or morevehicles listed on the website associated with dealership system(s) 130may include corresponding determined financing information in terms of,for example, monthly payments at a particular interest rate for each ofthe listed one or more vehicles. In some embodiments, receiving thebuyer loan request in Step 210 and providing the determined financinginformation in Step 250 may occur substantially at the same time. Inalternative embodiments, the determined financing information may beprovided to the buyer at a time subsequent to receiving the loan requestfrom the prospective buyer.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary loan request process 300 consistent withdisclosed embodiments. As an example, FIG. 3 is disclosed in connectionwith dealership system(s) 130, but it is understood that othercomponents may perform one or more aspects of loan request process 300,such as financial service system 110. In some embodiments, dealershipsystem(s) 130 may receive buyer identification information (Step 310)from, for example, a user (i.e., a prospective buyer) operating buyersystem 120. For example, the buyer identification information maycomprise a username and password combination associated with a useraccount for using a personalized version of the dealership websiteassociated with dealership system(s) 130. Such a user account may bereferred to as a dealership system account. In other embodiments, thebuyer identification information may comprise a registration request fora dealership system account. Dealership system(s) 130 may determine ifthe buyer associated with buyer system 120 has a previously configuredaccount on the website or websites associated with dealership system(s)130 (Step 320).

Dealership system(s) 130 may determine whether a prospective buyer of anitem is associated with an existing dealership system account (Step320). In some embodiments, the prospective buyer may be the useroperating buyer system 120. In some embodiments, the existing dealershipsystem account may be an account provided by dealership system(s) 130.Dealership system(s) 130 may determine whether the prospective buyer hasan existing account by accessing internal memory 132, an associatedinternal database (not shown), an external storage device via network140, etc. storing username and password combinations associatedregistered users of the dealership website to verify the received buyeridentification information.

If dealership system(s) 130 determines that the prospective buyer doesnot have a dealership system account (Step 320: NO), dealershipsystem(s) 130 may configure a new dealership system account for theprospective buyer (Step 330). The new dealership system account may beconfigured based on the buyer identification information described inconnection with Step 310. In some embodiments, dealership system(s) 130may prompt the prospective buyer (via, e.g., buyer system 120) forrelevant information as part of configuring the new account. Informationrequired to configure the account may include, as a non-limitingexample, one or more of a name, an address, contact information,government information, and a password. It is understood that this listof information is exemplary only, and that for any given prospectivebuyer, dealership system(s) 130 may seek or require more or lessinformation in order to configure a new account.

If dealership system(s) 130 determines that the prospective buyer doeshave a dealership system account (Step 320: YES), or if a new account isconfigured as part of Step 330, dealership system(s) 130 may verifyvarious details and information relating to the dealership systemaccount (Step 340). In some embodiments, dealership system(s) 130 mayverify the account by prompting buyer system 120 to transmitcorroborating documents. In other embodiments, financial service system110 may verify the account by corroborating information via a thirdparty over network 140. The third party may be, for example, agovernment database, or any other source of information that may containinformation associated with the prospective buyer. In alternativeembodiments, dealership system(s) 130 may verify the account byprompting the user to re-enter a previously created and stored passwordor answering a previously created and stored security question.

Dealership system(s) 130 may receive buyer financial informationtypically required in order to provide loan information (Step 350). Insome embodiments, when the prospective buyer requests financing for oneor more items on the dealership website, this information need not bere-entered by the user. Additionally or alternatively, the receivedbuyer financial information may be provided to financial service system110 (via, e.g., an API) for determining pre-approved loan terms allowingdealership system 130 to provide a personalized experience on thedealership website. For example, dealership system 130 may generatefinancing options personalized to the prospective buyer's according tothe pre-approved loan terms without the prospective buyer requestingfinancing information.

The buyer financial information received at step 350 may vary dependingon several factors, including but not limited to legal requirements ofthe geographical jurisdiction, financial history of the prospectivebuyer, parameters of the financial service provider 105, whether theprospective buyer is seeking to buy or lease the vehicle/item, timeconstraints, availability of the information, prior experience with theprospective buyer, etc. In some embodiments, the determination ofinformation required may be made based on prior loans provided byfinancial service system 110.

The buyer financial information may also relate to loan criteria andbuyer loan optimization preferences, which may affect loan terms.Information relating to loan criteria may help financial serviceprovider 105 evaluate the risk of the loan and may include details aboutthe buyer and/or an item to be purchased. For example, informationrelating to loan criteria may include the automobile make, model, andyear, the VIN, proof of income, proof of insurance, and/or back-endproduct information, if known. A buyer may also have loan optimizationpreferences, such as optimizing the interest rate, total monthlypayment, or number of payments or varying the down payment. The buyer'sloan preferences may be used to tailor the loan terms to the buyer'spreferences, making the loan terms more attractive to the prospectivebuyer. It is understood that the financial information required may varyand more or less information may be requested in order to determine andprovide financing information.

In some embodiments, dealership system(s) 130 may provide the loanrequest to financial service system 110 via the real-time API uponreceiving a loan request via, e.g., the dealership website (Step 360).In some embodiments, the loan request may include buyer identificationinformation associated with the prospective buyers dealership systemaccount and received buyer financial information. In alternativeembodiments, the loan request may be limited to a prospective buyer'srequest for a loan, and dealership system(s) 130 may provide receivedbuyer financial information to financial service system 110 at a latertime. In one aspect, when financial service system 110 prompts theprospective buyer to enter financial information in Step 220, dealershipsystem(s) 130 may provide received buyer financial informationassociated with the prospective buyer, which may be stored in theprospective buyer's dealership system account. Further, dealershipsystem(s) 130 may provide (via, e.g., the API) information associatedwith one or more items (i.e., automotive vehicles) selected by theprospective buyer on the dealership website.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary loan information collection process 400,consistent with disclosed embodiments. As an example, FIG. 4 isdisclosed in connection with financial service system 110, but it isunderstood that other components may perform processes to coiled varioustypes of information from a prospective buyer, such as dealershipsystem(s) 130. In some embodiments, loan information collection process400 may be similar to receiving buyer financial information and vehicleinformation in Step 230. Through a loan request, and by providing buyerfinancial information and vehicle information, a buyer may providefinancial service provider 105 with information relating to loancriteria, including VIN, third party valuation of the item for purchase,information associated with the buyer's finances, vehicle information,and buyer loan optimization preferences, which the financial serviceprovider may use to process and categorize the prospective buyer'srequest and to provide loan terms to the prospective buyer.

As shown in Step 410, financial service system 110 may receive one ormore VINs associated with item(s) the prospective buyer wishes tofinance. Financial service provider 105 may use the VIN(s) to determinedetails associated with the item affecting the value, depreciation rate,etc. Financial service provider 110 may receive the VIN via thereal-time API from dealership system 130.

As shown in Step 420, financial service system 110 may access thirdparty valuation systems regarding the item to be purchased. For example,financial service system 100 may access, consult, or otherwise interactwith third party systems associated with entities that evaluate,monitor, and/or estimate the value of automotive vehicles, such asKelley Blue Book™, do determine the average depreciation rate for thetype of vehicle the prospective buyer wishes to finance. Financialservice system 110 may access the third party valuation associated withthe item to be purchased via telephonic, postal, or electroniccommunications, such as via network 140.

As shown in Step 430, financial service system 110 may receive, access,or otherwise collect information associated with the buyer's finances.In some embodiments, the prospective buyer (via, e.g., buyer system 120)may provide information associated with the buyers finances, includingproof of the prospective buyer's income and insurance, to dealershipsystem 130 and/or via the real-time API to financial service system 110.For example, the prospective buyer may take a picture of a documentproving income or insurance and use buyer system 120 to provide thepicture to financial service provider 105. Financial service provider105 may use the prospective buyer's income and insurance to betterassess the risk of the loan, which may enable providing more competitiveloan terms to the buyer. Additionally or alternatively, financialservice system 110 may receive or access information associated with theprospective buyer's finances from internal memory (i.e., accessfinancial records associated with an account provided by financialservice provider 105 to the prospective buyer), from another financialservice provider, and/or from another third party having access toinformation relevant to the user's finances (such as, for example, acredit bureau).

As shown in Step 440, financial service provider 105 may collect vehicleinformation from dealership system(s) 130 (via, e.g., the API), whichmay include the condition of the vehicle and offered back-end productinformation. Financial service provider 105 may use the vehicleinformation, including the condition of the vehicle and back-end productinformation, to better assess the value of an item to be purchased andthe risk of the loan, which may enable providing more competitive loanterms to the buyer. Financial service provider may collect vehicleinformation, including vehicle condition and back-end productinformation, via financial service system 110. Alternatively oradditionally, buyer system 120 may provide vehicle information tofinancial service system 110. For example, the buyer may select desiredback-end product information associated with a portion of the dealershipwebsite offering financing, which may be provided to financial serviceprovider system 110 through the real-time API.

As shown in Step 450, financial service provider 105 may record theprospective buyer's loan optimization preferences, which may includepreferences regarding the interest rate, total monthly payment, numberof payments, or varying the down payment. Based on these loanoptimization preferences, financial service system 110 may tailor a setof loan terms to the buyer, making loan terms included in the determinedfinancing information more attractive to the prospective buyer. Theprospective buyer may provide (via, e.g., via buyer system 120) theprospective buyer's loan optimization preferences through, for example,a portion of the dealership website, which may be provided to financialservice provider 110 via the real-time API.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary loan approval process 500, consistentwith disclosed embodiments. As an example, FIG. 5 is disclosed inconnection with financial service system 110. In some embodiments, loanapproval process 500 may correspond to determining financing informationassociated with an item in Step 240. After receiving buyer financialinformation and vehicle information, financial service provider 110 maydetermine prospective financing terms for the item or items (Step 510).For example, financial service provider 110 may determine a set of loanterms responsive to the loan request based on the vehicle value, theprospective buyer's creditworthiness, the prospective buyer's loanoptimization preferences, etc. Financial service provider 105 may decidewhether to approve a loan for the buyer (Step 520). If financial serviceprovider 105 does not approve a loan associated with the item to bepurchased for the buyer (Step 520: NO), financial service system 110 mayprovide a message confirming receipt of the buyer's loan request (Step530) have a prior account, send the loan request to third partyfinancial service providers (Step 540), and notify the dealer of thedenied loan request (Step 550). If financial service provider 105 doesapprove a loan associated with the item to be purchased for theprospective buyer (Step 520: YES), financial service system 110 mayprovide the determined financing information to the prospective buyer(Step 560).

Financial service system 110 may determine prospective financing termsfor the item to be purchased based on received buyer financinginformation and vehicle information (Step 510). For example, financialservice provider 110 may determine a set of loan terms responsive to theloan request based on the vehicle value, the prospective buyer'screditworthiness, the prospective buyer's loan optimization preferences,etc. Financial service provider 110 may use databases and/or software toevaluate the risk of a loan and calculate an approval decision and, ifapproved, loan terms. Thus, loan terms and other financing informationmay be determined based on various information included in the loanrequest, buyer financial information, and vehicle information orelsewhere (e.g., information regarding the car, the buyer, the dealer,the general economy, the financial service provider's desired profitlevel for the loan or loans in general, etc.). Financial serviceprovider 110 may further identify the profitability associated withloans provided to other potential buyers requesting a loan via thedealership website. In one embodiment, determining financing informationassociated with the at least one item may include determining aninterest rate, loan duration, payment frequency, payment amount, and anyfees associated with the loan. In some embodiments, a series of loanterms (i.e., multiple permutations of loan duration, rate,loan-to-value, etc.) may be calculated under which determined financinginformation may be provided to the prospective buyer.

If financial service provider 110 determines to approve the loanassociated with an item to be purchased for the prospective buyer (Step520: YES), financial service system 110 may optionally prepare andprovide the determined financing terms to dealership system 130 and/orbuyer system 120 through the real-time API (Step 560). In someembodiments, the determined financing terms may be integrated with itemlistings on the website associated with dealership system(s) 130, asviewed by a user through buyer system 120. In one aspect, the determinedfinancing terms may appear as monthly payments at a particular interestrate for one or more vehicles listed on the website associated withdealership system(s) 130. Providing the determined financing informationto dealership system 130 and/or buyer system 120 will be discussed infurther detail below, including in connection to FIGS. 9-11.

If financial service system 110 determines not to approve a loan for theprospective buyer (Step 520: NO), financial service system 110 mayprovide a message confirming receipt of the buyer's loan request to thebuyer (Step 530). The notification message may, for example, providefeedback to the prospective buyer that system 100 is operating correctlyand provide time in which financial service system 110 contact theprospective buyer. Financial service provider 110 may determine not toapprove of a particular loan for a variety of reasons, including thedetermined risk of the loan or anticipated profitability for financialservice provider 105. Additional detail regarding a determination not toapprove the loan and the corresponding notification will be discussed infurther detail in connection with FIG. 12.

In some embodiments, financial service provider 110 may determine not toapprove a loan for the prospective buyer in connection with a firstvehicle, but determine to approve a loan for the prospective buyer inconnection with a second vehicle. For example, financial serviceprovider 110 may determine not to approve a loan for the prospectivebuyer for a vehicle outside of a make, model, or vehicle year criteria,but approve a loan for the prospective buyer for a vehicle that meetsthose criteria. In another example, financial service provider 110 maydetermine to approve a loan for the prospective buyer up to a maximumamount, which can be applied to any vehicle meeting those criteria, withdifferent loan terms applying to different vehicles. In someembodiments, the prospective buyer may have requested financing inconnection with only the first vehicle. In other embodiments, theprospective buyer may have requested financing options associated with aplurality of inventory items, such as a class or type of vehicle,including the first and second vehicles. Financial service system 110may provide the message confirming receipt of the loan request to thebuyer, for example, through the website associated with dealershipsystem 130 via the real-time API. The prospective buyer may receive themessage confirming receipt of the loan request through the real-time APIvia buyer system 120.

After providing a message confirming receipt of the loan request to thebuyer (Step 530), financial service system 110 may send the loan requestto third party financial service providers via telephonic, postal, orelectronic means, including via network 140. Loan request informationmay include all of the information received by financial service system110 in connection with the loan request, including buyer identification,buyer financial information, and vehicle information. By providing theloan request to third party financial service providers, financialservice provider may enable other financial service providers todetermine whether to provide financing terms to the buyer. Financialservice provider 110 may notify dealership system 130 of the denied loanrequest (Step 550) and of sending the loan request to third partyfinancial service providers (Step 540).

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary loan terms generation process 600, consistentwith disclosed embodiments. As an example, FIG. 5 is disclosed inconnection with financial service system 110. In some embodiments, oneor more aspects of loan terms generation process 600 may be correspondto Step 240 and Step 510, discussed above. Based on the received loanrequest, buyer financial information, and vehicle information, financialservice provider 105 may determine prospective financing informationassociated with the item to be purchased, including interest rate, loanduration, number of monthly loan payments, amount per loan payment,fees, etc.

As shown in Step 610, financial service system 110 may determine aninterest rate. Financial service system 110 may be configured to takedata collected from other customers and determine an appropriateinterest rate that, in combination with other loan terms, may maintainprofitability for financial service provider 105 (i.e., avoid customerdefaults).

As shown in Step 620, financial service system 110 may adjust the loanduration based on the buyer's loan optimization preferences. Financialservice system 110 may be configured to take data collected from othercustomers and appropriately adjust the loan duration such that, incombination with other loan terms, the adjusted loan duration maymaintain profitability for financial service provider 105.

As shown in Step 630, financial service system 110 may adjust the numberof monthly payments based on the buyer's loan optimization preferences.Financial service system 110 may be configured to take data collectedfrom other customers, including those who obtained loans through thedealership website using the API, and appropriately adjust the number ofmonthly payments such that, in combination with other loan terms, thenumber of monthly payments may maintain profitability for financialservice provider 105.

As shown in Step 640, financial service system 110 may calculate anamount per loan payment. Financial service system 110 may be configuredto take data collected from other customers and calculate an appropriateamount per loan payment that, in combination with other loan terms, maymaintain profitability for financial service provider 105.

As shown in Step 650, financial service system 110 may determine fees,which may relate to fees associated with a loan such as loan originationfees, tax tag fees, title fees, documentation fees, and deliverypreparation fees. Financial service system 110 may be configured to takedata collected from other customers and determine appropriate fees that,in combination with other loan terms, may maintain profitability forfinancial service provider 105.

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary multiple vehicle loan process 700, consistentwith disclosed embodiments. In some embodiments, multiple vehicle loanprocess 700 may include steps similar to receiving buyer financialinformation and vehicle information (Step 230), determining financinginformation (Step 240), and providing the determined financinginformation to the prospective buyer (Step 250) of vehicle loan process200. Through the real-time API, financial service system 110 may receivebuyer information and item information for multiple items from a buyer(Step 710). For example, the prospective buyer may select severalvehicles in which the prospective buyer is interested in purchasing fromthe dealership website. Upon receiving the buyer information and iteminformation for multiple items, financial service system 110 maydetermine financing information associated with the multiple items (Step720). Financial service system 110 may provide the determined financinginformation associated with multiple vehicles to the prospective buyer(Step 730).

As shown in Step 710, financial service system 110 may receive buyerfinancial information, as discussed in Steps 220 and 230, and vehicleinformation for multiple vehicles. In one embodiment, financial servicesystem 110 may establish loan terms for each vehicle independently.Alternatively, financial service system 110 may establish loan terms fordifferent classes of vehicles. For example, luxury vehicles with a valuelisted between $30,000 and $35,000 may be evaluated together as a class.Vehicle information for each vehicle or class of vehicles may helpfinancial service provider 105 evaluate the risk of each loan and affectloan terms. For example, information relating to loan criteria mayinclude each vehicle's make, model, year, VIN, and back-end productinformation, as well as the buyer's proof of income and proof ofinsurance. Financial service system 110 may receive the prompted-forfinancial information from buyer system 120 and item information fromdealership system(s) 130 (Step 230) via the real-time API.Alternatively, in another embodiment financial service system 110 mayreceive the prompted-for financial information from buyer system 120 anditem information from dealership system(s) 130 or the additionalinformation via telephonic, postal, or electronic means. In anotheraspect, the prospective buyer may provide vehicle information for eachvehicle to financial service system 110.

Upon receiving buyer financial information and vehicle information inStep 710, financial service system 110 may determine financinginformation associated with each item or class of items (Step 720).Financial service system 110 may use databases and/or software toevaluate the risk of a loan and calculate loan terms as discussed inStep 240. In one embodiment, determining financing informationassociated with the multiple items may include determining an interestrate, loan duration, payment frequency, payment amount, and any feesassociated with the loan for each stem or class of items to bepurchased.

Financial service system 110 may optionally prepare and provide thedetermined financing information associated with multiple items to buyersystem 120 through the real-time API (Step 730). In some embodiments,the determined financing information may be integrated with itemlistings on the website associated with dealership system(s) 130, asviewed by a prospective buyer through buyer system 120. In one aspect,the prospective buyer may be able to sort items on the websiteassociated with dealership system(s) 130 based on items for whichdetermined financing information has been provided. In some embodiments,the determined financing information may appear as monthly payments at aparticular interest rate for each of the vehicles listed on the websiteassociated with dealership system(s) 130. In some embodiments, providingthe determined financing information in Step 730 may occur substantiallyat the same time for each item or class of items to be purchased. Inalternative embodiments, the determined financing information for eachitem or class of items to be purchased may be provided to theprospective buyer at different times.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary user interface that may be provided bythe disclosed embodiments to provide a prospective buyer with determinedfinancing information for an item and facilitate submission oradjustment of buyer financial information. For example, as describedabove in association with vehicle loan process 200 and loan informationcollection process 400, financial service system 110 may be configuredto collect buyer financial information and, through a real-time API,receive financing information for presentation to the prospective buyerdetermined based at least in part on the collected buyer financialinformation. Aspects of the disclosed embodiments include softwareprocesses that, when executed by processors 111 and 121, generate andprovide the content, questions, solicitations, etc. included in the userinterface provided to buyer system 120 to receive, and process theinformation. Queries presented to the buyer may include, but are notlimited to, questions requesting details associated with buyer loanpreferences. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a dealership website 810associated with dealership system(s) 130 may interact with the real-timeAPI to provide the prospective buyer with a vehicle loan notification820. Vehicle loan notification 820 may include determined financinginformation, including an approval limit 822. The prospective buyer mayprovide buyer loan preferences through the real-time API via buyersystem 120 by adjusting the adjustable down payment bar 824 and enteringtrade-in vehicle information 826. Aspects of the disclosed embodimentsmay allow buyer system 120 to select answers to the various queriespresented. In some embodiments, buyer system 120 may select desiredanswers from drop-down menus. In other embodiments, the prospectivebuyer may be able to type in answers to the queries using a userinput/output device (touchscreen, keyboard, voice command, or othersuitable input mechanism) associated with buyer system 120. The userinterface of FIG. 8 is exemplary and not limiting to the aspects of thedisclosed embodiments. Other formats, types of content, queries,mechanisms for uploading, etc. can be implemented to allow financialservice system 110 to receive, process, and display general desired iteminformation from buyer system 120.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary user interface that may be provided bythe disclosed embodiments to provide a prospective buyer with determinedfinancing information for multiple items in a list view. For example, asdescribed above in association with vehicle loan process 200 andmultiple vehicle loan process 700, financial service system 110 may beconfigured to, through a real-time API, provide determined financinginformation associated with each vehicle to a prospective buyeroperating buyer system 120. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, adealership multi-vehicle listing website 910 associated with dealershipsystem(s) 130 may interact with the real-time API to provide theprospective buyer with determined financing information for each listedvehicle 912, including a vehicle loan terms 914. As shown, vehicle loanterms 914 may include the listed price of the vehicle, monthly payment,interest rate, and required down payment. From this website, theprospective buyer may identify a particular vehicle of interest amongstthe listed vehicles and view corresponding financing information foreach vehicle through the real-time API via buyer system 120. The userinterface of FIG. 9 is exemplary and not limiting to the aspects of thedisclosed embodiments. Other formats, types of content, queries,mechanisms for uploading, etc. can be implemented to allow financialservice system 110 to process and display general desired iteminformation from buyer system 120.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary user interface that may be provided bythe disclosed embodiments to provide a prospective buyer with determinedfinancing information for an individual item and facilitate submissionor adjustment of buyer financial information. For example, as describedabove in association with vehicle loan process 200 and loan informationcollection process 400, financial service system 110 may be configuredto, through a real-time API, collect buyer financial information andprovide financing information, which is determined based at least inpart on the collected buyer financial information. Aspects of thedisclosed embodiments include software processes that, when executed byprocessors 111 and 121, generate and provide the content, questions,solicitations, etc. included in the user interface provided to buyersystem 120 to receive, and process the information. Queries presented tothe buyer may include, but are not limited to, questions requestingdetails associated with buyer loan preferences. For example, as shown inFIG. 10, a dealership individual vehicle listing website 1010 associatedwith dealership system(s) 130 may interact with the real-time API toprovide the prospective buyer with a vehicle loan term display 1012, atrade-in information link 1014, an insurance button 1016, and a reserveitem button 1018. Vehicle loan term display 1012 may display the vehicleprice, monthly payment, and APR interest rate associated with the listedvehicle. The prospective buyer may provide buyer loan preferences viabuyer system 120 by selecting trade-in information link 1014, whichallows the buyer to input or edit information relating to a trade-invehicle. The prospective buyer may provide buyer loan preferences buyersystem 120 by selecting insurance button 1016, which allows the buyer tochoose an extended warranty at an additional cost of $6 per month and/orgap insurance at an additional cost of $6 per month. The prospectivebuyer may provide buyer loan preferences through the real-time API viabuyer system 120 by selecting reserve item button 1018, which may call,e-mail, or otherwise initiate contact with the dealer associated withthe listed item via buyer system 120.

In another embodiment, the prospective buyer may reserve a desiredvehicle through the real-time API by selecting reserve item button 1018,which may initiate a funds transfer for a deposit from a financialaccount of the prospective buyer to a financial account associated withdealership system 130 to hold the vehicle for a specified length of time(e.g., days, weeks, etc.). Alternatively or additionally, theprospective buyer may purchase a desired vehicle through the real-timeAPI by selecting a purchase item button (not shown), which may initiatethe transfer of funds for a down payment from a financial account of theprospective buyer to a financial account associated with dealershipsystem 130 and/or payment for the full/remaining balance of the vehiclefrom a financial account of the prospective buyer associated withfinancial service system 110 to the financial account associated withdealership system 130.

Aspects of the disclosed embodiments may allow buyer system 120 toselect answers to the various queries presented. In some embodiments,buyer system 120 may select desired answers from drop-down menus. Inother embodiments, the prospective buyer may be able to type in answersto the queries using a user input/output device (touchscreen, keyboard,voice command, or other suitable input mechanism) associated with buyersystem 120. The user interface of FIG. 10 is exemplary and not limitingto the aspects of the disclosed embodiments. Other formats, types ofcontent, queries, mechanisms for uploading, etc. can be implemented toallow financial service system 110 to receive, process, and displaygeneral desired item information from buyer system 120.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary user interface that may be provided bythe disclosed embodiments to provide a prospective buyer with determinedfinancing information for multiple items selected by the prospectivebuyer. For example, as described above in association with vehicle loanprocess 200 and multiple vehicle loan process 700, financial servicesystem 110 may be configured to, through a real-time API, providefinancing information which is determined based at least in part on thecollected buyer financial information. Aspects of the disclosedembodiments include software processes that, when executed by processors111 and 121, generate and provide the content, questions, solicitations,etc. included in the user interface provided to buyer system 120 toreceive, and process the information. For example, as shown in FIG. 11,a dealership “buyer's garage” portion 1110 of the website associatedwith dealership system(s) 130 may interact with the real-time API toprovide the prospective buyer with loan term bars 1112 and 1114 andenhanced financing information 1116. In one aspect, loan term bars 1112and 1114 may provide the vehicle price, monthly payment, APR interestrate, vehicle availability status, and dealer telephone number toreserve the listed vehicle. In one embodiment, enhanced financinginformation 1118 may include additional determined financing informationbased on buyer financing information, including a length of loan term,down payment, trade-in value, net trade-in equity, tax, tag, titlecosts, documentation fee, delivery preparation fee, service plan, gapinsurance, and the total amount financed. The user interface of FIG. 11is exemplary and not limiting to the aspects of the disclosedembodiments. Other formats, types of content, queries, mechanisms foruploading, etc. can be implemented to allow financial service system 110to receive and process general desired item information from buyersystem 120.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary user interface that may be provided bythe disclosed embodiments to provide a prospective buyer with a messageconfirming receipt of the buyer's loan request. For example, asdescribed above in association with vehicle loan process 200 and loanapproval process 500, financial service system 110 may be configured to,through a real-time API, notify the prospective buyer that the loanrequest has been received. Aspects of the disclosed embodiments includesoftware processes that, when executed by processors 111 and 121,generate and provide the content, questions, solicitations, etc.included in the user interface provided to buyer system 120 to receive,and process the information. For example, dealer website 1210 associatedwith dealership system(s) 130 may interact with the real-time API toprovide the prospective buyer with a receipt notification 1212, whichinforms the prospective buyer that the dealer will contact the buyer inthe next 24 hours. Receipt notification 1212 provides the prospectivebuyer with feedback that system 100 is working, while giving financialservice system 110 time to send the loan request to third partyfinancial service providers as described in Step 540 and notify thedealer of the denied loan request as described in Step 550. The userinterface of FIG. 12 is exemplary and not limiting to the aspects of thedisclosed embodiments. Other formats, types of content queries,mechanisms for uploading, etc. can be implemented to allow financialservice system 110 to receive and process general desired iteminformation from buyer system 120.

The disclosed embodiments improve upon existing auto loan calculators byimproving both the scope and accuracy of financial information availableto a prospective buyer during the shopping process. Purchase of a largeitem—especially a vehicle—may invoke emotional decision-making ratherthan rational consideration. Mistakes made in this process are noteasily undone. Accordingly, by assembling the prospective buyer's fullfinancial profile and integrating determined financial information intothe listing of items on a dealer's website, the disclosed embodimentscan serve as an extra layer of protection and confidence for buyers,sellers, and associated financial institutions. The disclosedembodiments provide, among other things, enhanced informationavailability, convenience, and security.

Other features and functionalities of the described embodiments arepossible. For example, the processes of FIGS. 2-7 are not limited to thesequences described above. Variations of these sequences, such as theremoval and/or the addition of other process steps may be implementedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosedembodiments.

Additionally, the disclosed embodiments may be applied to differenttypes of sales. Any financial service institution that provides loanaccounts to customers may employ systems, methods, and articles ofmanufacture consistent with certain principles related to the disclosedembodiments. In addition, any buyer or seller of any automotive vehiclemay also employ systems, methods, and articles of manufacture consistentwith certain disclosed embodiments.

Furthermore, although aspects of the disclosed embodiments are describedas being associated with data stored in memory and other tangiblecomputer-readable storage mediums, one skilled in the art willappreciate that these aspects can also be stored on and executed frommany types of non-transitory computer-readable media, such as secondarystorage devices, like hard disks, floppy disks, or CD-ROM, or otherforms of RAM or ROM. Accordingly, the disclosed embodiments are notlimited to the above described examples, but are instead defined by theappended claims in light of their full scope of equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A networking system for providing personalized,real-time information, via a user interface, based on remotely retrievedinformation from remote computer network users without requiring usersto transition between websites in the user interface, the systemcomprising: memory hardware storing instructions; and processinghardware configured to execute the instructions to perform operations,comprising: providing an Application Programming Interface (API) that isaccessible by a first server and configured to provide personalized,real-time information determinations to the first server, wherein theAPI allows a software application installed on a client device toexchange data with the first server in a synchronous request-responsepattern; receiving a first request, for the synchronous request-responsepattern, from the client device via a website associated with the firstserver, wherein the first request comprises a specific request type forthe client device to access the first server, and wherein the specificrequest type is designated by the API; generating a personalized,real-time information response, for the synchronous request-responsepattern, based on the received request, the response comprising apersonalized, real-time information determination related to terms foran item listed on the website; providing, via the API, the personalized,real-time information determination to the website via the first serverto display the personalized, real-time information determination on thewebsite with the item; generating for display, in the user interface onthe website, the personalized, real-time information determination;receiving a second request, in the user interface on the website, toadjust the terms; updating, based on the second request, thepersonalized, real-time information determination; providing, via theAPI, the updated personalized, real-time information determination tothe website via the first server to display the updated personalized,real-time information determination on the website with the item; andgenerating for display, in the user interface on the website, theupdated personalized, real-time information determination.
 2. The systemof claim 1, wherein the API provides the personalized, real-timeinformation determination to the website in an Extensible MarkupLanguage (XML) format or in a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format.3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first request comprises: personalidentification information of the user; personal financial informationof the user; and information associated with the item listed on thewebsite.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the item comprises at leastone of an automobile of a specific type, an automobile at a particularlocation, or an automobile within a price range set by the user.
 5. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the item comprises a vehicle and the firstrequest indicates at least one of a vehicle identification number, userproof of income, user proof of insurance, a backend product, gapinsurance, a user loan optimization preference, or a third party offer.6. The system of claim 1, wherein generating the personalized, real-timeinformation determination comprises determining an interest rate, a loanduration, a number of loan payments, an amount per loan payment, or feesassociated with a loan.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the operationsfurther comprise providing the first request to a third party.
 8. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the item comprises a first vehicle of aplurality of vehicles listed on the website.
 9. The system of claim 8,wherein providing the personalized, real-time information determinationcomprises providing financing terms for each vehicle of a plurality ofvehicles listed on the website.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein thepersonalized, real-time information determination comprises differentfinancing terms for each vehicle of a plurality of vehicles listed onthe web site.
 11. A method for providing personalized, real-timeinformation, via a user interface, based on remotely retrievedinformation from remote computer network users without requiring usersto transition between websites in the user interface, comprising:providing an Application Programming Interface (API) that is accessibleby a first server and configured to provide personalized, real-timeinformation determinations to the first server, wherein the API allows asoftware application installed on a client device to exchange data withthe first server in a synchronous request-response pattern; receiving afirst request, for the synchronous request-response pattern, from theclient device via a website associated with the first server, whereinthe first request comprises a specific request type for the clientdevice to access the first server, and wherein the specific request typeis designated by the API; generating a personalized, real-timeinformation response, for the synchronous request-response pattern,based on the received request, the response comprising a personalized,real-time information determination related to terms for an item listedon the website; providing, via the API, the personalized, real-timeinformation determination to the website via the first server to displaythe personalized, real-time information determination on the websitewith the item; generating for display, in the user interface on thewebsite, the personalized, real-time information; receiving a secondrequest, in the user interface on the website, to adjust the terms;updating, based on the second request, the personalized, real-timeinformation determination; providing, via the API, the updatedpersonalized, real-time information determination to the website via thefirst server to display the updated personalized, real-time informationdetermination on the website with the item; and generating for display,in the user interface on the website, the personalized, real-timeinformation determination.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the APIprovides the personalized, real-time information determination to thewebsite via the first server in an Extensible Markup Language (XML)format or in a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format.
 13. The methodof claim 11, wherein the first request comprises: personalidentification information of the user; personal financial informationof the user; and information associated with an item listed on thewebsite.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein the item comprises at leastone of an automobile of a specific type, an automobile at a particularlocation, or an automobile within a price range set by the user.
 15. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the item comprises a vehicle and the firstrequest indicates at least one of a vehicle identification number, userproof of income, user proof of insurance, a backend product, gapinsurance, a user loan optimization preference, or a third party offer.16. The method of claim 11, wherein generating the response compriseddetermining an interest rate, a loan duration, a number of loanpayments, an amount per loan payment, or fees associated with a loan.17. The method of claim 11, further comprising providing the firstrequest to a third party.
 18. The method of claim 11, wherein the itemcomprises a first vehicle of a plurality of vehicles listed on the website.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein providing the personalized,real-time information determination comprises providing financing termsfor each vehicle of a plurality of vehicles listed on the website. 20.The method of claim 11, wherein the personalized, real-time informationdetermination comprises different financing terms for each vehicle of aplurality of vehicles listed on the website.
 21. A method for providingpersonalized, real-time information, via a user interface, based onremotely retrieved information from remote computer network userswithout requiring users to transition between websites in the userinterface, the method comprising: providing an Application ProgrammingInterface (API) that is accessible via a website associated with a firstserver and configured to provide personalized, real-time informationdeterminations to the website, wherein the API allows a softwareapplication installed on a client device to exchange data with the firstserver in a synchronous request-response pattern; receiving a firstrequest, for the synchronous request-response pattern, from the clientdevice via a website associated with the first server, wherein the firstrequest comprises a specific request type for the client device toaccess the first server, and wherein the specific request type isdesignated by the API; generating a personalized, real-time informationresponse, for the synchronous request-response pattern, based on thereceived request, the response comprising a personalized, real-timeinformation determination related to terms for an item listed on thewebsite; providing, via the API, the personalized, real-time informationdetermination to the website to display the determination on the websitewith the item; generating for display, in the user interface on thewebsite, the personalized, real-time information determination;receiving a second request, in the user interface on the website, toadjust the terms; updating, based on the second request, thepersonalized, real-time information determination; providing, via theAPI, the updated personalized, real-time information determination tothe website to display the updated personalized, real-time informationdetermination on the website with the item; and generating for display,in the user interface on the website, the personalized, real-timeinformation determination.